Wrappin' it up: Auburn wins, 37-20

Hey everyone. I'll deposit quotes here as soon as I get through them on my trusty tape recorder.

Tristan Davis's injury isn't serious. He pulled a hamstring, but he said afterward that he's expecting to play against Georgia next week.

Same thing for Sen'Derrick Marks, Antonio Coleman and Tez Doolittle: They're reasonably healthy and expect to play next week. Marks was upset to have his consecutive-start streak ended at 35. He said he was prepared to start, but was told to sit this one out.

Ben Tate on his emotions when the score was tied at 20 today: "I don't know if they were anxious moments. I was kind of shocked, actually, because a team like Tennessee-Martin should never, never be that close. That just shows that we've got to come out a lot better than we did. We have to start faster."

Ben Tate on his health and how it affected his play today: "I'm 100 percent. Does it look like I'm not 100 percent? I'm fine. I've been fine since the Ole Miss game. It's just a matter of going out there and producing -- no matter what the odds are or what my line is doing. I have to fight and get yards."

Robert Dunn on his messed-up punt return that led to a UTM touchdown: "Just anxious. Just pumped up about being back on the field. Just kind of got out of my element a little bit and tried to make something happen. The ball didn’t bounce my way. This time, I ended up on the short end of the stick. But you learn from your mistakes. Couple times, I’ve made some bad choices and it turned into a good thing. Just take this and learn from it."

Dunn on if he expected to be fired after that gaffe: "Um, yeah. Kind of surprising that they told me to get back out there. I was like `Who-hoo.'"

Kodi Burns on if he put the team on his back in the third quarter: "I was just sick of seeing this. It's the same story every week. I was just sick of seeing it and didn't want to see it again. I just wanted to come out and get a win so I did everything in my power to move the ball down the field and score."

Burns on his early-game problems: "I was just a little off. Just a little bit of misreads. They're were giving us a little different looks then we've seen all year. It eventually picked up. It was basically just feeling comfortable out there. Just picking it up instead of going out there and kinda going through the motions.

Paul Rhoads on the team's defensive injuries: "There were a lot of horses on the sidelines in street clothes and one (Powers) who could have just have well been in street clothes because he didn't play as well. You play six guys, you rotate, you play a guy that is that high tempo, with a quick passing game and a lot of running, I think that the fatigue shows up a little bit, and a little bit of a lack of a pass rush. But the guys committed to playing the game and playing all in, and I think they certainly finished it out that way."

Tommy Tuberville on the win: "They gave us some problems. Their quarterback (Cade Thompson) really did a nice job, but we didn't have a lot of our guys healthy on defense. We held most of our defensive line out and I am really proud of six defensive linemen that really played the whole game rotating them in and out. That was a great effort by those kids. We got a little bit tired. We made some plays and got a little bit better."

Tuberville on the offense: "Kodi (Burns) was the difference with his legs running making plays. We threw the ball a little better. We didn't do a lot on offense or defense. We were pretty much vanilla. We were just trying to make plays and of course a couple of turnovers hurt us and kickoff coverage hurt us."

Tuberville on Neil Caudle, who was 4-of-5 for 32 yards: "Neil did good. Obviously we weren't trying to score there at the end. Sometimes people think when you put your second team quarterback out there, you just run the clock out. We needed to see Neil throw the ball and throw it down the field. He showed some poise. He threw the ball quick and got it off. We were trying to put him in right before the half but we gave up a 3rd and 10 and gave them an opportunity to go down and score. I would have loved to have gotten him a few more snaps."

Pregame/First Quarter, AU 13-7

Hey everyone. I have arrived. My girls are here for this one, so my daughter was mucho excited. She's certainly in the minority; this stadium is about 75% full.

AUBURN 13, UT-MARTIN 7: Byrum hits a 44-yard field goal. Pass from Burns to Rod Smith went for 32 yards and moved Auburn into field-goal range. (2:13)

AUBURN 10, UT-MARTIN 7: Wes Byrum hit a 48-yard field goal. Drive was set up by a UTM drive that lost 14 yards and forced them to punt from their end zone. Auburn began the drive at the UTM 40. (7:36)

AUBURN 7, UT-MARTIN 7: The Skyhawks recovered a fumble in the end zone for a score. Robert Dunn misjudged a punt and tried to field it about 5 yards deep in the end zone. I bounced off him and into the hands of a UT-Martin defender. That's all on Dunn. (12:03)

AUBURN 7, UT-MARTIN 0: Tristan Davis returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. He took this one up the middle. Broke through, veered right and took it to the house. He backpedaled the final five yards. (14:46)

Gettin' started on a Saturday

Hey everyone. Had a swell time last night with the peeps. Official HABOTN propers are offered to the Haynes clan, the Rogers clan and the Peaspanen clan for making the night enjoyable.

On to business...

AUBURN 98, MOREHOUSE 50: Your Auburn Tigers opened their exhibition season with an easy win over a completely overmatched opponent. Of significance is that junior-college transfer Tay Waller scored 27 points. He's a shooter. He hit seven shots from three-point range.

That allowed point guard Quantez Robertson (pictured at right) and Dewayne Reed to create on the fly inside the three-point line. That's exactly what Jeff Lebo needs right now. His new big men, Johnnie Lett and Brendan Knox, combined to finish with 15 points and 17 rebounds.

FOOTBALL SITUATION: I'll be heading up to Auburn around 11 p.m. CST for the epic homecoming battle between Your Favorite Team and the UT-Martin Skyhawks. We'll start live coverage around 12:45.

11.07.2008

How slow has this gotten?

Hey everyone. It's one day before the BIG homecoming game and I'm feeling a bit underwhelmed. You know the feeling. It's like when Ben Tate takes a hand-off out of the shotgun formation and starts that arduous journey beyond the tackle.

Play builds slowly, create little suspense. Kinda like this week.

Will Auburn beat UT-Martin? I think so. The Tigers are so much bigger along the line. Surely that will be enough to let guys like Tate and Brad Lester get into the defensive backfield more than occasionally.

I predict a 24-10 Auburn win. That would be a scoring bonanza.

Who will play? Lots of people you don't know all that well: Spencer Pybus, Dee Hood, Drew Cole, Eric Smith ... maybe even Adam Herring.

That's about all I have for you.

ON-CAMPUS SCHEDULE FOR SATURDAY:

9:30 a.m. - Tiger Team Village open

11:30 a.m. - Tiger Walk

11:30 a.m. - Public gates open

12:10 p.m. - Spirit March

1:05 p.m. - Pre-Game begins

1:10 p.m. - Eagle Flight

1:30 p.m. - Auburn vs. UT Martin

ONE OTHER THING: Live blog or comment-based quarterly posts? Which would you rather use tomorrow?

11.06.2008

All we have are the embers

Thanks to the 60 or so HOTTIES who participated in today's campfire.

We discussed some guy named Tim "Punky" Brewster, Ben Tate (pictured at right after being asked about his diminished role this season), David Housel, Jay Jacobs' job description, Tommy Tuberville's disposition and Clifton Robinson's deposition.

Auburn video, 11/6

A little present in my inbox

Rock Band 2 Game Registration [reply-17410@up0.net]

Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2008 2:45 PMTo: Tate, Jay G.

Thanks again for registering your copy of Rock Band 2. The 20 Bonus DLC tracks are now available for download!ALSO: Video is being uploaded. Should be ready by 3:20. Upload times at the house are sloooooow.

Thinkin' on a Thursday

Hey everyone. Thanks for providing a 200-post rally yesterday. I know it's been tough with this being UT-Martin week and the lack of positive news and whatnot. You've had a lot of obstacles. Still, you arrive here and maintain your reputation as the most intelligent, insightful and succinct Auburn fans around.

Congratulations.

Today's plan looks a little sumpin' like this: Video around 3 p.m. CST because I've got the semi-annual trip to the dentist earlier in the afternoon.

Also, I'd like to run a campfire around 4 p.m. CST to answer your questions.

11.05.2008

Managing a meltdown

Hey everyone. It's been an interesting 24 hours of governmental events, no doubt, but that's not my business. I write about Auburn sports. It's no less interesting these days.

An example:

I'm wondering what Auburn plans to do about this emerging situation involving its head coach of 10 years. The program is at its lowest point since Brother Oliver was in command. Coach Tommy Tuberville's team has a poor offense, a weakened defense and more injuries than they can count.

The offensive implosion affected the defense in negative ways. We know this.

We know the whys. Tuberville made several poor decisions involving Tony Franklin, his alleged offense and the way that alleged offense was implemented. There are at least five reasonable ways to view this situation:

Tommy Tuberville stinks.

Tony Franklin stinks.

The offensive assistants stink for not providing Franklin more support.

Tuberville doesn't necessarily stink, but made some major personnel errors.

A mix of everything above -- like a "suicide" drink at summer camp.

Tuberville already has admitted to messing up the Franklin experiment, so we have an official call there. Some fans find it therapeutic when the coach admits mistakes. That's what Tony Franklin told me, anyway. Fine.

That doesn't solve the most pressing issue now.

Is Tuberville going to coach at Auburn in 2009? That's something athletic and university administrators (along with a few others) are pondering these days. The coach has his backers. He has detractors. I believe they're in approximately the same ratio they were two months ago.

I've heard sound logic applied to the idea of firing Tuberville. These folks say recent recruiting hauls have been weak, the team has been less powerful in the SEC each year since 2004 and the Franklin Foulup has been a killer.

The Tuberville backers say he is the program's best-ever coach, a good representative of Auburn and, basically, he's better than almost anyone else the Tigers could lure. With vacancies at Tennessee and Clemson already drawing indirect interest, this "offseason" market will favor coveted coaches. Auburn could find itself bidding against some deep-pocketed programs if Auburn chooses to pursue The Hot Names.

If Auburn doesn't make a decision soon, though, it risks a replay of 2003.

Tuberville was fired in 2003. The decision had been made. Only a twist of fate altered that plan.

If Auburn doesn't make a firm decision on Tuberville's future -- and go public with that notion -- it may again find its future in someone else's hands.

What if Tuberville wins the Iron Bowl this year?

Is that unlikely? Of course. Alabama has an outstanding team this season.

Still, what if? Is Auburn really going to spend $7.2 million to fire a staff that just beat Alabama for a seventh consecutive year?

On the offense expanding: "We expanded a lot last week. You can only go the speed the quarterback can take. Kodi is a smart young man, but that was his second start. We've added some things. It's mostly formations. Those formations are what gives you problems on the defensive side of the ball."

On Chris Slaughter: "He's a very good zone receiver because he can get in the creases."

Team still cares?: "They're still practicing hard. There's a lot of pride."

Splitting carries is hurting rhythm: "We'd love to have run one running back more. We haven't been able to do that because of injuries. The consistency hasn't been there. You'd like to see one of them step up and get 20, 25 carries."

How important is this game?: "They need to have something good happen to them. We need to have the ball bounce to us. It's been one of those years when the ball rolls away from us."

On Fulmer getting run: "It's tough. It's part of the business. Good friend. It's hard to imagine being part of a program for 35 years. We've become very good friends during the past 15 years."

On coaches getting run in mid-season: "You see a little more of that lately. That's just part of it, I guess. I've known each one of them. You feel for them. We're all in the same business."

What he wants out of a new offensive coordinator: "I've had a chance to watch a few games. I've watched what's going on the NFL. The NFL is struggling to find good quarterbacks. (Says something about how college teams don't use drop-back offenses anymore.) I've got a stack of resumes I've gotten. I won't look at them until the end of the season. We're not going to change much; we're still going to be multiple."

Said he'll evaluate Auburn assistants at the end of the season. He said recruiting will be the No. 1 element.

Morning update

Hey everyone. Wifey said our local YMCA branch -- a voting precinct but not ours -- had a 50-yard line at the door at 6:15 a.m. Voting doesn't begin until 7.

So ... I'm going to head out the door soon. I'm clearing out one hour to wait for my opportunity to vote.

I'll leave you with a Monday quote from LSU coach Les Miles:

This morning at 6:45 a.m., we met as a team. We went through a number of things, but something that probably is not necessarily forefront in our thinking in this room but maybe should be is voting. I told my team, 'This is at the very minimum a historic vote, and it's something we should be responsible for and participate in.' I suggested that they get in position to fulfill their responsibilities as citizens of the United States and vote. I suggest the same in this room. I voted early. (OL) Herman Johnson and myself both got early opportunities at the voting booth.

This is the best way for Fulmer to go out considering the circumstances. The Volunteers can go about searching for his successor -- cash money says they drop lots of cash money on the next guy -- and Fulmer finally can escape the incredible pressure he's been feeling. He had a good run.

Anyway, I penned a story for the Advertiser today, which discussed the Tigers' run-game troubles. It also touched on Kodi Burns. I believe you should get value for your 50 cents ... if you paid that.

Tuberville's assertion that Auburn isn't physical enough to run effectively was The Quote of the Day. That wasn't the only interesting thing said Sunday.

Here is a look at some other intriguing comments:

JASON BOSLEY SPEAKS

On his senior season not progressing as planned: "We've got three games left; three more guaranteed opportunities to play. Hopefully we'll finish strong and go to a bowl game. Just go out on a high note. But it definitely has been tough, a big-time adjustment to have to go through something like this your senior season."

On the seniors' legacy: "You always talk about legacy as a senior, and what you want to leave. Me, I've always believed in hard work and toughness. Our seniors, that's what we want to leave. We're going to play hard every play."

On if Kodi Burns is a rah-rah kind of leader: "I think he is. He could be. He seems real nice off the field and everything, but he's intense and he's real encouraging, so I think as long as he just keeps progressing ... He got rid of the ball quick, he made some good reads. He struggled some, but everybody struggles. It's a learning process for him."

TIM HAWTHORNE SPEAKS

On what he saw from Kodi Burns last weekend: "I saw a lot of maturity from Kodi just for the simple fact that he;s been through an offense like this and the quarterback situation and the firing of the offensive coordinator and everything. I think he showed a lot of character and just pretty much he had faith in all of us to make plays. Right there, alone, is a big plus from his side to us."

On the significance of this weekend's game: "Just to give us that winning taste in our mouth. We're on a four-game losing streak. It's been a while since we've walked on that field knowing that we have a win in the win column. A win against anybody would just really get us back on the right track. Hopefully just propel us for the rest of the season. We got three games left and if we take care of business Saturday, that will give us great motivation for the remaining two."

*****PERSONAL AREA*****

As many of you know, I play Rock Band quite often. I hit an important milestone on Friday. I gold-starred a song. That means I knocked an "expert" track out of the park. This is a new level of competence for me.

The song in question, for you nit-pickers, was Duran Duran's "Hungry Like The Wolf."

A little housekeeping

Hey everyone. I'm chilly willy this morning. Is there any way I can cover Auburn from western Australia? I want to be there sailing for some reason. I haven't sailed in years, so that seems like an odd thing to want. I still do.HALL OF FAME UPDATES: Several newcomers have made tangible contributions to the HABOTN during the past month or so. It's important that we focus on praising new posters; recruiting is the "lifeblood" of any organization. That's what Tommy Tuberville told me.

So big ups our new "NOTABLE NEWCOMERS":

(The Front Rim posse)

au1n04

mark

dan

shesaid

I'm also adding cotton to our "FEELING THE HEAT" group because, well, cotton should have been there all along. Unfortunate oversight on my part. Apologies.

TODAY'S SCHEDULE: I'll be making another video this afternoon. Look for that around 3. I also have some interesting quotes from other players to share. ETA on that is around noon.

Tuberville speaks, 11/2

"The little things are killing on both sides of the ball."

"Offensively, we didn't have the running numbers we'd like. Kodi made some good decisions and some ... not so good. I thought he responded well at times. It all goes back to one thing -- you've gotta be able to run the ball."

"Defensively, giving up 240 yards rushing is a huge disappointment. They did a good job of confusing us a couple of times. The one little fast guy they have (Dexter McCluster) hurt us on the outside. That's two weeks in a row that we haven't stopped the run."

On motivation: "The one thing you can't do is worry about other teams. You know, a lot of funny things happen in November. It's going to be an interesting month of college football. Watching Floirda play is amazing. We watched the Ole Miss tape -- it's amazing how much better they've gotten."

"This is a game to them. They want to win games. We're not good enough to play in a bowl. We're not consistent enough. We have a chance to get better. It's a pride factor. It's an attitude factor."

What would a win do this weekend: "Any win is big when you're struggling like us. The last few games, we've been struggling to get to the stadium and feel like we have a chance ... considering what these players have been through."

Does the pressure affect CTT's family, specifically his two sons: "It's a good lesson for them. You kinda of persevere. They're old enough now that they understand what's going on."

On Burns: "You've got to give them enough offense where they can move the team. Against West Virginia, we were a running team. Yesterday, we were more shotgun and let him throw the ball down the field. The gameplan was to run the ball more in the corners. We knew they were going to stack the box. At halftime, we decided that we had to throw the ball down the field and get (Ole Miss) off of us. We were our own worst enemy."

Who would have kicked a field goal?: "I'll go to my grave with that one."

"In the past, we'd have been able to run the ball with eight or nine in the box. We can't; we're not physical enough."

Why go east-west with the runs?: "If you're going too much lateral, there's no chance for a cut back. There's a fine line with the running backs being on the right track (on the sprints) and they're not on the right track."

What did Burns do well?: "At times, he threw (intermediate) routes pretty well. When you're in shotgun, those guys on the other line of scrimmage are not playing the run. It makes pass protection tougher. He has to stay in the pocket. Things on the outside are much better right now. Things (with crossing routes) are not very good."

On Sgt. Slaughter: "He's been very inconsistent. (Burns) has to get more confident in the guys on the field. Rod has been one of those guys; Chris hasn't. It doesn't look like Rod will get back this week because of his injury."

More on Slaughter: "Chris is not a burner. We threw a studder-and-go to him. If that had been Rod -- he's faster than Chris -- we'd have scored on that play. Chris is more of a role guy."

On The Happy Haitian, Mike Blanc: "He probably was our best defensive lineman yesterday. They think he might have a broken hand."

Who plays if Blanc is out? Is Derrick Lykes a possibility?: "Yep. Him and (Cam) Henderson. We'd hate to do that. Ricks and Clayton are the only two healthy guys we've got."

Tuberville said he moved Lykes up to the second- or third-team in practice "a month ago."

Tuberville said Sen'Derrick Marks played two second-half snaps. He has an ankle problem.

On Dee Hood: "They went after him and he did a good job. He really did well. He was a bright spot. I thought we had lost McFadden. That was ugly. He's sore. He probably won't practice until Wednesday. We'll practice Hood and Harry Adams this week. Jerraud and Neiko probably won't play this week."

On why Auburn's run defense is terrible: "It's just little things -- being mis-aligned and missing tackles."

Tuberville also mentioned all the injured guys in relation to the run-defense problem. Described Tray Blackmon as "our bell cow." Someone get him a costume!

A look at Sunday's schedule

Hey everyone. I knocked out some Rock Band this morning with Wifey, so I'm rejuvenated and ready for another fun-filled day of Auburn football. These are Tommy Tuberville's halcyon days, huh?

I'm headed up to Auburn around 1:30. I'm aiming to live blog Tommy's thing at 3 o'clock. Practice should be short. I should be able to get a players video up by 7 or so.

Campfire could be a possibility if there is interest.

Also, we're actively recruiting HOTTIES and associated briquets for the Facebook Commune. It's just something else fun to do while we're spinning around on this rock every day. If you think Facebook is silly or whatever, you may keep that opinion to yourself.